The Prince · Chapter
XXIII: How Flatterers Should Be Avoided explained
Machiavelli warns princes against the pervasive danger of flatterers in courts, who exploit self-complacency and deception.
What happens
Machiavelli warns princes against the pervasive danger of flatterers in courts, who exploit self-complacency and deception. He advises a middle course: select wise counselors, grant them freedom to speak truth only on matters inquired, question them thoroughly, then form and steadfastly hold one's own conclusions. He cites Emperor Maximilian's secretive and indecisive nature as a cautionary example, and argues that good counsel stems from the prince's own wisdom, not the reverse.
Themes in this chapter
The Importance of Public Perception
The prince must manage how he is perceived by his counselors and court, avoiding both the contempt that comes from being swayed by flatterers and the loss of respect from allowing unrestricted truth-telling.
Human Nature and Its Exploitation
Men are self-complacent and easily deceived, and flatterers exploit this; the prince must understand this nature to guard against it and to keep counselors honest through constraint.
Pragmatism Over Morality
The prince's approach to counsel is pragmatic: he should listen only when he wishes, discourage unsolicited advice, and punish dishonesty, prioritizing effective governance over openness.
Characters to notice
- Maximilian I
Cited as a modern example of a prince who consulted no one, kept his designs secret, and was consequently pliant and inconsistent, undoing one day what he did the next.
- The Prince
The central subject of the chapter; advised to avoid flatterers by choosing wise counselors, inquiring of them, and being steadfast in resolutions.
Key passages
“Because there is no other way of guarding oneself from flatterers except letting men understand that to tell you the truth does not offend you; but when everyone may tell you the truth, respect for you abates.”
The only defense against flatterers is to show that you welcome the truth, but if anyone can speak freely, your authority diminishes.
Highlights the delicate balance a prince must strike between openness and maintaining respect.
“Therefore a wise prince ought to hold a third course by choosing the wise men in his state, and giving to them only the liberty of speaking the truth to him, and then only of those things of which he inquires, and of none others; but he ought to question them upon everything, and listen to their opinions, and afterwards form his own conclusions.”
A prudent prince should take a middle path: select wise counselors, allow them to speak truth only on matters he asks about, question them thoroughly, and then decide for himself.
Machiavelli's core prescription for avoiding flattery while still benefiting from counsel.
“Therefore it must be inferred that good counsels, whencesoever they come, are born of the wisdom of the prince, and not the wisdom of the prince from good counsels.”
Good advice originates from the prince's own wisdom, not the other way around.
Reinforces the theme that a prince's intelligence is the foundation of effective governance.